L’Oreal Denies Wrongdoing in Russia Gray-Market Investigation

April 18 (Bloomberg) -- L’Oreal SA, the world’s largest
cosmetics maker, denied any wrongdoing after a French newspaper
today reported a criminal investigation into claims its products
were sold in Russia outside approved distribution channels.

An investigating judge was appointed last year to lead the
probe into allegations of breach of trust and money laundering
by a former distributer, who said L’Oreal didn’t stop Russians
from buying products duty-free and bringing them back for
resale, according to Liberation.

The dispute began in 1998 and “courts have ruled in
L’Oreal’s favor five times,” said Stephanie Carson-Parker, a
spokeswoman for the company. The former distributer’s
“unfounded and overly-publicized” allegations “are aimed at
artificially reanimating the case.”

L’Oreal filed a defamation complaint last year over the
claims.

A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutors didn’t immediately
return calls for comment.